The artsVest wrap party events were pretty successful, at least in that we learned we can schmooze with some of the best business people in the region! On the other hand, they were all wearing suits and I don’t own a suit, and it wasn’t really a “speed-dating” event at all. It was a room where arts organizations were given booths and local professionals could mill around and quiz us on business practices in between mouthfuls of grilled cheese sandwich points. I hadn’t been expecting a large booth, so it looked a little empty, and I definitely regretted not bringing some T Shirts and at least one NMA poster.

The best thing that came out of these events, for me, was the realization that I’ve perfected my elevator pitch, and even given it a lovely pyramid structure! I can get out a meaningful “we’re a national publication that takes pride in promoting emerging Canadian writers on a platform level with established ones” in the time it takes to get to the second floor, but I could keep going if we’re headed for floor 22. You know, being nationally-minded in such a large country with a very dispersed population means that there are important businesses and communities in the region that have no idea that one of the most respected literary journals in Canada is published right next door. We started the Wild Writers Literary Festival for two reasons: to let Kitchener-Waterloo know that we’re here, and to make Kitchener-Waterloo a literary destination within Canada. We’ve been so successful with this that I’m attempting to expand beyond the literary community to promote collaboration between artists of all media in the region and across Canada. Ambitious, sure, but I’ve never been one to rest on my laurels and I suspect The New Quarterly is not the sort of publication to become complacent either.

I have to mention that years ago, perhaps as many as 15 or 20, the Globe and Mail ran a piece on Waterloo, saying that we were the tech capital of Canada (which, yay!), but it also labeled the area as a “cultural wasteland.” I doubt anybody specifically remembers this, but the words stung, and we’ve been defensive about our cultural output ever since. Many businesses in the area are realizing that investing in the arts creates a better quality of life for their employees and are very supportive, others not so much. But thanks to programs like artsVest and Business for the Arts, we’re making some headway (to the tune of about $288,000 invested in 18 local arts organizations, so there).

Day 6

Day 8